In its investigation into the deaths of the three Dickason girls, the police in New Zealand worked through more than 330,000 messages that Lauren Dickason sent to and received from her husband, family and friends.
The NZ Herald reports that Lauren expressed her frustration with her children and their behavior in many of the messages. Hundreds of the messages were read to the jury in Christchurch High Court on Friday where Lauren’s trial is taking place. The messages span from 2016 to several hours before the children were killed.
In many of the messages, Lauren expressed her frustrations as a mother, as well as her struggles with depression and anxiety. There were also numerous messages regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, concerns about the riots that took place in South Africa in July 2021 and the family’s emigration to New Zealand.
Among other things, Lauren sent messages in which she said she needed help with motherhood, that she was very happy to leave South Africa and that she had suicidal thoughts, reports Stuff.co.nz. Loving messages between Lauren and Graham were also read out in court, as well as messages in which Lauren tells how much she loves her three children.
In many of the messages, Lauren told friends she thought her husband thought she was crazy. In another message, she confessed to a friend that she had stopped taking her antidepressants. It seems Lauren was initially very excited about the family’s emigration to Timaru, but she also said in numerous messages that the associated planning was taking its toll on them.
In the weeks leading up to the family’s move, Lauren told friends she was in a “deep dark hole” and that she felt paralyzed by fear and uncertainty.
The Dickasons arrived in New Zealand at the end of August 2021 where they spent two weeks in quarantine in Auckland. During this time, Lauren sent messages to friends in which she described it as “hell on earth”.
After the family completed the quarantine period, they flew to Christchurch and then traveled to Timaru. Lauren and Graham both sent messages to friends and family at the time saying it was one of the hardest things they had ever done. Lauren also expressed her doubts about whether they did the right thing to emigrate.
The trial continues.
